Samsonov not at morning skate
Canes forward Sergei Samsonov, who missed Game 5 with a lower-body injury, was not on the ice for today's morning skate but could play tonight Canes coach Paul Maurice said.
"We're hopeful he can play tonight," Maurice said. "He skated (individually) early this morning and felt pretty good."
Maurice said there would be some lineup changes without being specific. One will be defenseman Anton Babchuk, a healthy scratch in Game 5, paired with Niclas Wallin. Babchuk is expected to replace Frantisek Kaberle.
Samsonov said Saturday that he would skate this morning for the first time since the injury, which came late in Game 4, before a decision was made on whether he would play tonight.
Samsonov's absence caused some line shuffling for Game 5, with center Jussi Jokinen coming off the fourth line and going on the wing on Rod Brind'Amour's line. Dwight Helminen made his first appearance of the playoffs, centering the fourth line.
Center Matt Cullen again sat out the skate, as he has throughout the series.
About the blogger
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is in his second season as the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @ice_chip.